Kodiak Island, Alaska
Alutiiq / Sugpiaq People – Artist Ronna Myles-Era

Bull whip kelp, twine, beads, seashell, feather
ca. 2022 AD
Length: 10 in
Idiophone – Indirectly Struck – Shaken (Rattle)

A Kelp Rattle made from the top bulb part of the seaweed called Nereocystis luetkeana, made by Alutiiq / Sugpiaq Artist Ronna Myles-Era.  This seaweed is commonly called the Bull whip kelp or Ribbon kelp. The Pacific Northwest Coast native people use the Bull whip kelp for their fishing gear, such as, fishing lines, nets, ropes, harpoon lines and anchor lines, as well as for their storage containers, and even musical instruments, such as this rattle.  Commercial companies use Bull whip kelp in the preparation of pharmaceutical supplies, dairy products, and it is a source of potash salts.

In nature, Bull kelp grows in large fields or beds out from the shore and offers protective shelter for young fish and many invertebrates such as sea urchins, sea stars, snails and crabs. Sea otters thrive in kelp forests, too.  In appearance this seaweed is made up of a round, hollow bulb, from which ribbon like blades emerge from the top of the bulb. The air trapped in the bulb pulls the kelp up so that the blades float close to the surface and receive adequate sunlight. Attached to the air bladder is a stipe. The stipe is a hollow tube up to 120 feet long. The lower end of the stipe is solid, which the root like structure tenaciously clings to a rock on the bottom sea floor.

This Bull whip kelp rattle is masterfully made and beautifully decorated with twine, beads, a seashell and feather by Alutiiq / Sugpiaq Artist Ronna Myles-Era.

Resource:  https://www.primitiveways.com/bull_whip_kelp.html